Cattle-guard.



No. 805,616. v PATENTED NOV. 28, 1905.

' W. A. ALGORN, Sn. & H. B. BELT.

CATTLE GUARD. APPLIoATIoN FILED 23.10, 1905.

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Q0 WIZamAAlcar/z 51;, Br/y lnventor by /l Attorneys UNITED STATES PATENT ormoni.

WILLIAM` 'ABISTIDES ALCORN, SR., AND HARRY BUSH BELT, OF ULARKS- DALE, MISSISSIPPI.

CATTLE-GUARD.

ASpeciication of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 28, 1905.

Application tiled April 10, 1905. Serial No. 254,885.

tle-Guard, of which the following is a speci' iication.

This invention relates to cattle-guards, and has for its object to enable the convenient erection of the guard without requiring the removal of the railway-track rails.

Another object of the invention is to have the supporting-frame of the guard associated with the cross-ties of the track in a manner to produce a strong and durable support for the rotary members of the guard.

A still further object of the invention is to enable the convenient removal'of the rotary guard members without dismantling the supporting-frame, thereby to enable the ready repairing of the device and to permit of the removal of debris from beneath the rotary guard members in order that the latter may be maintained in proper operable condition.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a cattle-guard embodying the features of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view with one of the outer supporting-beams removed. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the axle of one of the rotary guard members.l Fig. 5 is a detail view of another form of axle.

Like characters of reference designate corfresponding parts in each and every figure of the drawings.

so as to accommodate the guard of the present invention, and between the surface ties 2 is a series of lower cross-ties 3, which are sunk in the ground, as usual, the surface cross-ties 2 being supported upon the outer portions of the tops of the adjacent depressed ties. Stringers 4 are supported upon the tops of the depressed ties 3, with their end portions abutted against and suitably connected to the surface ties 2, the rails l being supported upon the stringers and secured thereto by the usualv or any preferred form of track-fastening devices. Midway between the stringers is a beam 5, placed edgewise upon the depressed ties 3, with its ends abutted against and secured to the surface ties 2, and in the upper edge of this beam there is a series of vertical notches 6, spaced at regular intervals. Similar beams 7 are supported upon the ends of the depressed ties at the outer sides of the rails, these outer beams overlapping the ends of the surface ties 2 and secured thereto by suitable fastenings 8. By this assemblage of parts the cross-ties, the stringers, and the beams constitute a base-frame for the support of the .movable guard members.

Each guard member is made up of a shaft or bar 9, preferably non-circular in cross-section and provided with terminal journals or trunnions 10, one of which is inserted in a horizontal socket 1l, formed in the adjacent upright side of the Stringer, while the other journal is seated in one of the notches 6 of the adjacent supporting-beam, so as to rotatably support the bar. Upon the bar is a series of independent guard members, each member including a hub 12, having a non-circular central opening 13 to receive the non-circular portion of the bar and provided with a plurality of radial blades or Wings 14, one of them, which has been designated 14, being heavier than the others, so as to normally hang downward, and thereby maintain the opposite blade or wing in an upright position. A retaining'- strip 15 is secured to the top of each beam, so as to close the bearing seats or notches 6 therein, and thereby prevent displacement of the shafts or bars.

As clearly shown in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings, it will be noted that the upper edge of each upstanding wing or blade terminates at or below the tread-surface of the rails 1, and the rotary guard members are so disposed that the outer edges of the wings of each just clear those of the adjacent members.

When an animal steps upon any of the rotary guard members, the hoof thereof will pass down between adjacent members and be pinched thereby without injury to the animal, as the outer free edges of the wings are rounded for this express purpose. The animal will of course be frightened by the action of the rotary guard members, and will thereby be deterred from passing over the guard.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that the guard of the present invention may be set up without necessitating the removal of the rails, it only being necessary to remove several successive surface ties and remove the ballast, so as to produce a shallow pit into which the removed cross-ties are placed with their upper faces flush with the lower faces of the surface ties, after which the stringers and beams 5 and 7 may be readily fitted in place and connected together, whereupon the supporting-frame is in condition to receive the rotary guard members.

Should the guard members become obstructed by accumulations beneath the same, the retaining-strips 15 are removed from the supporting-beams, the rotary guards removed, and the accumulation of debris removed without interfering with the su pporting-frame and the rails of the track, whereby the present guard may be very conveniently maintained in an effective operable condition.

We also contemplate employing' the form of axle shown in Fig. 5, wherein the axle 16 is rectangular in cross-section; but instead of reducing its ends to form journals metallic cy lindrical bearing-heads 17 are fitted to the ends of the axle, said heads of course having rectangular sockets to snugly receive the rectangular ends of the axle.

Having fully described the invention, what is claimed is- 1. The combination of a pair of surface cross-ties, rails supported upon the ties, a pit located between the ties, depressed ties located in the pit, stringers mounted upon the depressed ties with their ends connected to the surface ties and su pporting the rails,beams supported upon the depressed ties at opposite sides of the rails with their ends overlapping and connected to the ends of the surface ties, the stringers being provided in opposite upright sides with bearing-sockets and the upper edges of the beams being provided with bearing-notches in alinement with the respective bearing-sockets of the stringers, bars having their ends supported in the bearingsockets of the stringers and the bearingnotches of the beams, retaining devices closing the open tops of the bearing-notches, and rotary guard members mounted upon the bars and including radial wings.

2. The combination of a pair of surface cross-ties, a pit between the ties, stringers located in the pit and extending between the ties, rails supported upon the stringers and the ties, beams located in the pit and extending between the ties, and rotary guard members supported upon the stringers and the beams and including radial blades, the guard members being removable from the stringers and beams to permit the removal of debris accumulated in the pit.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

WM. ARISTIDES ALCORN, SR.

HARRY BUSH BELT. Witnesses:

THos. BARKLAY,

CHAs. SCOTT, J r. 

